Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Den sterke blitsen lager en lang skygge bak skilpadden i hagen. - The strong flash makes a long shadow behind the turtle in the garden.

Den is a demonstrative pronoun used as a definite article before an adjective + noun construction. In Norwegian Bokmål, when you want to say “the strong flash,” you can’t simply attach the definite suffix to the adjective phrase. Instead you use den + weak adjective form sterke + noun with its definite suffix -n (blitsen). If you omitted Den, you’d have a bare adjective phrase and it would sound ungrammatical.

Why is sterke spelled with an “-e” at the end, rather than sterk?

Adjectives take the weak ending -e when they modify a definite noun phrase. Here the noun phrase is definite (it refers to a specific flash), signaled by den and the suffix -en on blitsen. Therefore the adjective gets the weak ending: sterke. In contrast, an indefinite phrase would be en sterk blits (no -e).

Why does blitsen end in “-en,” and what gender is blits?

blits is a common-gender noun in Bokmål (modern standard merges masculine and feminine into “common”). The suffix -en is the definite singular ending for all common-gender nouns. Thus blits → blitsen (“the flash”). The indefinite form is just blits with no ending.

What does lager mean here, and why isn’t it lagerer or something else?

lager is the present tense of the verb lage, which means “to make” or “to create.” Norwegian verbs typically form the present by adding -r to the infinitive stem: lag + r = lager. There is no separate “-er” doubling; you don’t say lagerer.

Why is the object en lang skygge indefinite? Could it be definite instead?

The sentence introduces “a long shadow” as new information, so it uses the indefinite article en. If the shadow had already been mentioned or is uniquely identifiable, you would make it definite: den lange skyggen (“the long shadow”).

Why is the adjective lang not lange or langt when modifying skygge?

Adjectives agree in gender, number, and definiteness:

Indefinite common-gender singular: no ending → lang skygge
Definite singular (all genders): -e ending → lange skyggen
Indefinite neuter singular: -t ending → langt tre (a “long tree” if tre were neuter)

Here skygge is indefinite common, so the correct form is lang skygge.

Could you use ei instead of en for skygge (i.e. “ei lang skygge”)?

Historically skygge is feminine, so in strict feminine Bokmål you could indeed say ei lang skygge. However, in modern standard Bokmål masculine and feminine have merged into a common gender, and en skygge is the default. Both forms are accepted, but en is more common in everyday writing and speech.

What is bak doing here? Are there other ways to say “behind”?

bak is a preposition meaning “behind” in a spatial sense: bak skilpadden = “behind the turtle.” You can’t use etter (that means “after” in time). If you want to intensify “right behind,” you could say midt bak or rett bak, but plain spatial “behind” is bak.

Why does skilpadden end in “-en,” and why is it definite here?

Like blitsen, skilpadde (turtle) is a common-gender noun. The -en suffix marks the definite singular: skilpadden = “the turtle.” It’s definite because we’re referring to a specific turtle in the garden, not any turtle in general.

Why is i hagen used at the end, and why does hage take -n?

i is the preposition “in,” used for enclosed spaces or areas (e.g. i huset = “in the house”). hage means “garden,” common gender, so its definite singular is hagen (“the garden”). Together i hagen = “in the garden.”